TD Grads get boost from Columbia Gorge Toyota
The steady hand of Ruth Pullen brought the letters of Mauricio Carrera to life on the sign.
Emboldened in yellow and crimson with the fierce head of a Riverhawk, it said: “Congratulations! Mauricio Carrera Class of 2020 The Dalles High School”.
And in the lower hand corner? Columbia Gorge Toyota.
Parents, teachers and community leaders came together on Tuesday night at Columbia Gorge Toyota in The Dalles to put their own personal touch on high school graduation slated for Saturday at Sorosis Park.
Using massive Sharpie pens Pullen and eight others clearly wrote the names of every graduating senior on the special signs Columbia Gorge Toyota recently printed.
That’s no small feat. There were more than 190 names to be written. And penmanship counted.
“Ending our senior year and graduating through this rough time is not what anyone expected, so I think it’s great that the community is helping celebrate us seniors,” said TDHS graduating senior Anna Singhurst. “They’re doing the most they can to make everything feel normal, and I can say we are all very blessed for this.”
The signs will be displayed at graduation to represent each senior as the ceremony will involve social distancing between classmates as well as attendees.
It’s not the usual hubbub of an Amaton Field ceremony, but endeavors such as Columbia Gorge Toyota’s to purchase and create the signs are a testament to the support this class is receiving.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Venus Allison, mother to Singhurst. “I love how our community comes together.”
She pointed to the seniors who were lighting up on Columbia Gorge Toyota’s digital sign. She also applauded the banners of each student hanging from light poles in downtown The Dalles. “There are all these little perks to make them feel special,” she said of the cumulative efforts of the community to embrace the graduating class.
“It started with honoring graduates on our reader board,” said Columbia Gorge Toyota’s Rachel Carter. “And it just grew from there. I was sad they were not having a ceremony where they could stand together, so the signs will be there to represent each student.”
On Monday, June 15, Columbia Gorge Toyota will place every sign along the front of their property at 1900 W. Sixth St. for the entire community to be proud of.
Seniors can check in with the dealership to retrieve their signs and like their Columbia Gorge Facebook page to be entered in a drawing to receive a free car detail, Carter said.
The dealership can also be reached at 541-296-2271.
Teachers, parents and Columbia Gorge Toyota’s Rachel Carter, center in green, came together on Tuesday evening to create signs for TDHS graduating seniors. Columbia Gorge Toyota came bought the signs after it was clear that social distancing guidelines would be needed for classmates as well as attendees at the graduation, slated for Saturday at Sorosis Park. Carter said the signs would represent the students during the delivery of diplomas.
Ruth Pullen uses her best penmanship for TDHS graduating senior Mauricio Carrera. Pullen’s daughter, Sophia, will also be graduating on Saturday. They plan to have a small family gathering after the ceremony.
TDHS senior graduate signs will adorn the front property of Columbia Gorge Toyota, 1900 W. Sixth St., The Dalles, starting on Monday, June 15, a show of pride for the community.
